The U.S. Department of Education (Department) awarded approximately $77.8 million in new grants to eight State Entities under the FY 2018 Charter Schools Program (CSP) State Entities Competition.

Authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (20 U.S.C. 7221-7221j), the CSP State Entities Program is a competitive grant program that enables State entities to award subgrants to eligible applicants in their State to open and prepare for the operation of new charter schools and to replicate and expand high-quality charter schools.

In October 2018, the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) was awarded a CSP Grant of $23 million, and an additional $19.525 million was awarded in supplemental funding in September 2019. The $42.525 million of funding was provided to carry out the following activities in Arkansas through its new grant program, the APSRC Charter Development Grant: